Diablo 2 Cow Level

Greetings! So you heard of a secret level in Diablo 3 (or maybe you haven't yet), you don't know how to get there, and you are in need of a guide to help get you there. Well you came to the right place!

First off to get to the Secret level in Diablo 3, which looks like this:

If you have a high lvl sorc enchant you, and kill the cows yourself with a Ravenclaw bow in the full-house game, you can go from level 20-25+ in just one normal cow run. You have to be the only one down there. The Secret Cow Level is an uberlevel reachable by cubing Wirt's Leg in the Horadric Cube when standing in the Rogue Encampment on Hell difficulty. Befitting its name, the Secret Cow Level is inhabited by nothing but bipedal cattle, including their leader, the Cow King. Topspin software, free download. Defeating the Cow King opens a portal to the Corral of Corruption, home to Bull Prince, the moolicious heir to the throne.

We first need to obtain a certain Staff, called the Staff of Herding. This staff is not easy to obtain, here is a quick FAQ about it:

What is the Staff of Herding?
It allows you to access the secret level in Diablo III, by following the road out of Tristram in Act I until you find the ghost cow.

How do I get the Staff of Herding?
You need to collect a total of 5 items through various drops, as well as purchase an item costing 100,000g. I will explain more in-depth how to obtain these items below.
How long does it take to build the staff?
Personally, it took me about 45 minutes to completely build the staff, including research time. However, there are many reports of farming for 2-3 hours for a single piece of the staff, so the total time seems to vary greatly with luck.
How much does it cost to build the staff?
To obtain the most basic form of the staff (normal version) it costs 150,000g. It then costs an additional 200,000g to build the nightmare version of the staff, 500,000g for the hell version of the staff. The Inferno version costs 1,000,000g. The staff itself is weak and is only used to enter the secret level. Here is the basic stats for the staff:

Diablo 2 Experience Chart

How do you obtain the pattern for nightmare/hell/inferno versions?
They seem to spawn randomly on the quartermaster in the main town of Act III:

Is the staff destroyed on use?
No, you can use the staff as many times as you wish.
Does the nightmare/hell/inferno version of the staff work on lesser difficulties?
Yes, the staff can be used on any difficulty up to and including the difficulty stated in the prefix of the staff. (Note: normal version of the staff does not have a prefix, it is just the Staff of Herding)
Does the staff gain any stats?
No, it is only used to gain access to the secret level.
How difficult is the secret level?
The secret level is just as difficult as Act IV of the current difficulty. It scales as more players join just like any other level.
Do I have to refarm the materials to build the nightmare/hell/inferno version of the staff?
No, after the first form of the staff is made you need only the previous version of the staff and a sum of gold to upgrade it.

Building the Staff

Diablo 2 Cow Level How To Open

Here is the guide on how to get each piece required for the staff:
It is crafted using 5 rare items and a rare recipe, you need 150,000 gold total for the normal version of this staff.
Leroic's Shinbone
Act: 1
- Found Inside of the fireplace in Leroic's Manor (Click on the burnt logs)

The Black Mushroom
Act: 1
- Found in the cathedral, most commonly floor 1 (Click mushroom pile)

Diablo 2 Cow Level Recipe

Liquid Rainbow
Act: 2
- Inside of a mysterious cave in act 2 (Dahlgur Oasis)
Wirt's Bell
Act: 2
- Bought for 100,000 gold from Squirts in the Act 2 Bazaar
Gibbering Gemstone
Act: 3
- Drops from Chiltara in the Caves of Frost(Found after Bridge of Korsikk)
Plans: Staff of Herding
Act: 4
The recipe to craft the staff is a drop from Izual (Act 4 Boss)
Once all 6 items are obtained, open the window of your blacksmith and right click the pattern to learn it, you can now craft it under the weapon section.

Now that it is crafted, you must visit The Ghost of the Cow King on old tristram road in Act 1, he will have a brief dialog with you and then open the path to Whimsyshire, the magical land of rainbows and ponies (secret level). See video:

SPOILER NOTE: The following video shows actual game footage of the secret cow level (at 2:10 in).
When you move onto nightmare or later you can upgrade the staff to get better loot and tougher challenges, this involves buying the recipe in act 4 final quest and paying 200k to upgrade to nightmare, 500k for hell and 1 mill for inferno.
The Loot!

There are lots and lots of chests and champions to grind in the Whimsyshire (secret level).

Thus, Inferno Whimsyshire drops should equal Act I of what we will call Super Inferno.

Not to mention I have found very few Legendary items (4 to be exact) and 3 of them were found in Whimsyshire. They weren't the best, but they each netted be a decent amount on the AH.

Diablo 2 Cow Level Hell

Diablo 2 Experience Chart

How do you obtain the pattern for nightmare/hell/inferno versions?
They seem to spawn randomly on the quartermaster in the main town of Act III:

Is the staff destroyed on use?
No, you can use the staff as many times as you wish.
Does the nightmare/hell/inferno version of the staff work on lesser difficulties?
Yes, the staff can be used on any difficulty up to and including the difficulty stated in the prefix of the staff. (Note: normal version of the staff does not have a prefix, it is just the Staff of Herding)
Does the staff gain any stats?
No, it is only used to gain access to the secret level.
How difficult is the secret level?
The secret level is just as difficult as Act IV of the current difficulty. It scales as more players join just like any other level.
Do I have to refarm the materials to build the nightmare/hell/inferno version of the staff?
No, after the first form of the staff is made you need only the previous version of the staff and a sum of gold to upgrade it.

Building the Staff

Diablo 2 Cow Level How To Open

Here is the guide on how to get each piece required for the staff:
It is crafted using 5 rare items and a rare recipe, you need 150,000 gold total for the normal version of this staff.
Leroic's Shinbone
Act: 1
- Found Inside of the fireplace in Leroic's Manor (Click on the burnt logs)

The Black Mushroom
Act: 1
- Found in the cathedral, most commonly floor 1 (Click mushroom pile)

Diablo 2 Cow Level Recipe

Liquid Rainbow
Act: 2
- Inside of a mysterious cave in act 2 (Dahlgur Oasis)
Wirt's Bell
Act: 2
- Bought for 100,000 gold from Squirts in the Act 2 Bazaar
Gibbering Gemstone
Act: 3
- Drops from Chiltara in the Caves of Frost(Found after Bridge of Korsikk)
Plans: Staff of Herding
Act: 4
The recipe to craft the staff is a drop from Izual (Act 4 Boss)
Once all 6 items are obtained, open the window of your blacksmith and right click the pattern to learn it, you can now craft it under the weapon section.

Now that it is crafted, you must visit The Ghost of the Cow King on old tristram road in Act 1, he will have a brief dialog with you and then open the path to Whimsyshire, the magical land of rainbows and ponies (secret level). See video:

SPOILER NOTE: The following video shows actual game footage of the secret cow level (at 2:10 in).
When you move onto nightmare or later you can upgrade the staff to get better loot and tougher challenges, this involves buying the recipe in act 4 final quest and paying 200k to upgrade to nightmare, 500k for hell and 1 mill for inferno.
The Loot!

There are lots and lots of chests and champions to grind in the Whimsyshire (secret level).

Thus, Inferno Whimsyshire drops should equal Act I of what we will call Super Inferno.

Not to mention I have found very few Legendary items (4 to be exact) and 3 of them were found in Whimsyshire. They weren't the best, but they each netted be a decent amount on the AH.

Diablo 2 Cow Level Hell

Also, those cute little clouds are everywhere, and with decent magic find yield a lot of opportunities to find something awesome.

I will update this section as more and more loot is found in the secret level!

Good luck on the farming and enjoy slaying the over friendly beasts!!!

Diablo 2 Cow Level Guide

Also, for LOTS of cool guides I would check out Diablo 3 Gold Secrets By Peng Joon, there's a small fee for it, but well worth it in my opinion.